Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (8)

8/9/2017 – After ten games in the World Championship match in Reykjavik, 1972, the score was 6½-3½ for Challenger Bobby Fischer. The match seemed virtually over – in the last eight games Boris Spassky had only managed to score 1½ points. "If it had been the best of 12 games, as in the Candidates matches, Spassky would already have been on his way home..." wrote Garry Kasparov in his Great Predessors book. In game 11 Boris took on the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Najdorf Sicilian, even though he had obtained a lost position in game seven. Take a look at what happened.

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Fighting back

Game 11 – Spassky takes on the Poisoned Pawn

After ten games the score was now 6½-3½ for Fischer. The champion had not won since the first game, and of the last eight points had only scored 1½ points – from three draws. In Garry Kasparov On My Great Predecessors, Part 4 the 13th World Champion writes:

"It is interesting that no one, in my opinion, has drawn attention to a staggering coincidence: at that point the match score was 6½-3½ – if Fischer's zero for his default in the second game is discarded, we have the final result of his match with Petrosian! Thus if it had been the best of 12 games, as in the Candidates matches, Spassky would already have been on his way home ...

However, from this moment in the match the play took an even course. The champion calmed down and began fighting with the desperation of the doomed: he sensationally crushed his opponent in the 11th game (the only occasion where Fischer risked repeating a variation that had occurred earlier: the 7th game was also a Sicilian with ...Qxb2) and then he confidendy gained a draw in the 12th."

In the magazine New in Chess vol 6/2012, pp.60-68, GM Lubomir Kavalek, who was in Reykjavik for the Match of the Century, both as a journalist and, in the second half, as one of Fischer’s seconds, wrote:

"The [eleventh] game brought back memories of my first game against Fischer from the 1967 Sousse Interzonal, which he famously left after he was in the lead. He allowed his opposition only three draws, winning seven games. We played the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Sicilian Najdorf to which, faced by Fischer’s novelty, I added a poisoned knight. It started a new trend and the knight has been sacrificed in many different ways ever since. Bobby grabbed the horse with gusto, but made one single slip and had to find a difficult escape from the slippery slope to make a draw. ‘You added a colossal brick to the opening theory’, Larsen commented on the game.

But I also saw two different sides of Fischer. During the game Bobby requested more lights and eventually we moved to a different table, closer to the window. It felt like we were playing in a TV studio, but it was not enough for him. Two more lamps were brought in, and it was like playing chess on the beach in the midday sun."

In the October 1972 issue of Chess Life & Review, which today has become the official magazine of the US Chess Federation Chess Life, GM Robert Byrne reporting from Reykjavik after game ten, wrote:

Now three points down, Boris fought back at once, again taking on the "poisoned pawn" variation of the Najdorf Sicilian, with which he had obtained a lost position in round 7, drawing only through Fischers careless endgame play. This time he improved by 10 BxN and 11 B-K2, leading to a far more preferable system than the 10 B-Q3 of game 7. But it was his spectacular 14 N-NI that made the game. Gligoric, who decked it out with seven exclamation points (His annotations in the match bulletins give the move only two.—Ed.], came running into the press room declaring "It turns the entire 'poisoned pawn' variation upside down. Fantastic! There's nothing to do about it." Nevertheless, the dust hasn't settled on it yet. Bent Larsen and Fridrik Olafsson are not convinced that it deserved the success it achieved.

Bobby went wildly astray against it, however, sacrificing a pawn, the acceptance of which gave Spassky an overwhelming position immediately. Realizing that there was no long-range way to fix up his game, Fischer swung into a desperate, unsound attack which Boris brushed off effortlessly, winning a Queen for a minor piece and making short shrift of what remained of Fischer's position.

Byrne: "Before this game, Boris had gone nine straight rounds without taking a single point over the board. Will this win build up his morale so that he can make a serious bid to get back into the match? We'll soon know."

Game 12 — A reluctant draw

In the November 1972 issue of Chess Life & Review, p.683, GM Robert Byrne wrote:

Rebounding from the thumping defeat his poisoned-pawn Najdorf suffered at Spassky's hands in the 11th game, Fischer made a stubborn attempt to recover the point in the 12th. Once again his 1 P-QB4 developed into a Queen's Gambit Declined as in the 6th encounter, but Spassky, mindful of the catastrophe his Tartakower Variation met with, diverted at the 7th move into the Old Orthodox Defense, hardly seen since Capablanca and Stahlberg fought over its fine points more than 40 years ago.

Although Bobby obtained a small advantage in the early middle game he found no way to press it, even with the two Bishops. After omitting the Strong 25 Q-K2, he began to get into difficulties, compounded by a mistake on move 35. However, Boris overlooked a powerful chance to play for a win, replying routinely to maintain an approximately level position. Shortly after adjournment Boris's exact defense destroyed whatever opportunities there might have been to make any progress and the game could have been agreed a draw. Nevertheless, Fischer obstinately continued until he lost a pawn in a dead drawn position with Bishops of opposite colors. That finally convinced him the game really was a draw.

In the following commentary, as in his game summaries above, we retain the descriptive notation that Byrne (like everyone in the English world at the time) was wont to use. It is good practice to follow his remarks in this archaic form.

On August 9th 1972, exactly 45 years ago, the 12th game adjournament ended with a draw. The score has now narrowed to 7.0-5.0 for Fischer. Spassky appears to be fighting back and the match has turned more exciting.

At the close of the game, people were applauding Spassky, but he gestured in a way that he wished the applause to be reduced.

As we were about to leave the hall, a young chess prodigy, staring at the final position on the projection screen, exclamed, “That was sick!”, probably thinking of the loss of the queen and the number of moves made afterward before resigning. The friend I was with laughed, and observed, “Everyone’s a critic!”

This was Bobby’s first and only loss with the Poison Pawn variation of the Najdorf. One time, I reviewed Fischer’s adventures with the Sicilian Defense by looking at his chronological results. His point percentage against 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 jumped up sharply when he switched to 7...Qb6, starting with his game against Parma at Bled, 1961.

Previous articles

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (1)In the final week of June 1972 the chess world was in turmoil. The match between World Champion Boris Spassky and his challenger Bobby Fischer was scheduled to begin, in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, on July 1st. But there was no sign of Fischer. The opening ceremony took place without him, and the first game, scheduled for July 2nd, was postponed. Then finally, in the early hours of July 4th, Fischer arrived. Frederic Friedel narrates.

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (2)The legendary Match of the Century between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer was staged in the Laugardalshöllin in Reykjavik. This is Iceland’s largest sporting arena, seating 5,500, but also the site for concerts – Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen and David Bowie all played there. 45 years after the Spassky-Fischer spectacle Frederic Friedel visited Laugardalshöllin and discovered some treasures there.

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (3)On July 11, 1992 the legendary Match of the Century between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer finally began. Fischer arrived late, due to heavy traffic. To everybody's surprise he played a Nimzo instead of his normal Gruenfeld or King's Indian. The game developed along uninspired lines and most experts were predicting a draw. And then, on move twenty-nine, Fischer engaged in one of the most dangerous gambles of his career. "One move, and we hit every front page in the world!" said a blissful organiser.

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (4)7/16/2017 – The challenger, tormented by the cameras installed in the playing hall, traumatically lost the first game of his match against World Champion Boris Spassky. He continued his vigorous protest, and when his demands were not met Fischer did not turn up for game two. He was forfeited and the score was 0-2. Bobby booked a flight back to New York, but practically at the very last moment decided to play game three – in an isolated ping-pong room!

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (5)7/21/2017 – After three games in the Match of the Century the score was 2:1 for the reigning World Champion. In game four Spassky played a well-prepared Sicilian and obtained a raging attack. Fischer defended tenaciously and the game was drawn. Then came a key game, about which the 1972 US Champion and New York Times and Chess Life correspondent GM Robert Byrne filed reports. In Reykjavik chess fan Lawrence Stevens from California did something extraordinary: he manually recorded the times both players had spent on each move.

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (6)7/26/2017 – In the sixth installment of our series we offer readers a glimpse of what had been happening behind the scenes of “The Match of The Century”, especially in the Russian camp. A tense Boris Spassky, cajoled by seconds Efim Geller and Nikolai Krogius, nevertheless failed to perform to the dismay of his friends and admirers. It’s also the story of a gamble that could have hurtled Bobby down the precipice in that fateful Game 6 of the match. A cautionary tale and object lesson for aspiring players.

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (7)8/4/2017 – After the first two traumatic games World Champion Boris Spassky was leading 2-0 in the Match of the Century. But then Fischer started to play and struck back: in the next eight games he scored 6½ points, chalking up a 6.5-3.5 lead. Games 8, 9 and 10 were quite spectacular, and are the subject of today's report. Younger players will also learn about "adjournments" and how exactly "sealed moves" were handled. Some were born after these practices were abandoned.

No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.

Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.

Frederic FriedelEditor-in-Chief of the ChessBase News Page. Studied Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Hamburg and Oxford, graduating with a thesis on speech act theory and moral language. He started a university career but switched to science journalism, producing documentaries for German TV. In 1986 he co-founded ChessBase.

See also

9/1/2017 – The score was 11½-8½ for Challenger Bobby Fischer, who needed 12½ to win the title. In game 21 he had the black pieces and he played a Sicilian variation he had never before shown any liking for. He gained a distinct advantage, but then allowed Boris Spassky to sacrifice an exchange to get a drawn position. However, the still-reigning World Champion went on to blunder and finally lose his title.

See also

8/30/2017 – The score was 10½-7½ for the Challenger, who needed 12½ to win the title. Was Bobby Fischer content merely to sneak in by split points? "I don't believe it — it's never been his style," wrote commentator GM Robert Byrne. "I think the explanation for the draws is to be found in Spassky's improvements in his openings." In games 11 and 12 Fischer kept coasting, but he also relaxed somewhat with social encounters.

Video

Former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik liked to play the French and once described it as a 'difficult and dangerous opening'. But in this 60 minutes video IM Andrew Martin suggests an aggressive and little-used idea of the renowned attacking player GM Viktor Kupreichik to counter the French: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Be3!?. Andrew Martin uses the games of Kupreichik to show why this line could catch many French aficionados unprepared and is very dangerous for Black. Attacking players will love this line and the unusual complications that it promotes.

Discuss

I am curious why the French flag is displayed next to Spassky's name at the top of the page? The match took place in 1972, when Spassky was a citizen of the USSR.

IGMMURAT 8/10/2017 02:23

The series is superb

marc.steinhebel@yahoo.com 8/9/2017 09:37

Notes to game 11:

I would like to reply to GM Kavalek's comment in this article: "We played the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Sicilian Najdorf (in 1967 at Sousse) to which, faced by Fischer’s novelty, I added a poisoned knight. It started a new trend and the knight has been sacrificed in many different ways ever since. Bobby grabbed the horse with gusto, but made one single slip and had to find a difficult escape from the slippery slope to make a draw."

35...Nce4 really was Spassky's only chance in this game. In Byrne's line after 36. Ra1 Rc8, better is 37. Be5 Nd2 38. Qd1 Nb3 39. Rb1 Qa4 40. Rb3. Black is a pawn up, but White is still in the game. White could try 36. Be5 Rc8 37. Qd1 Nd2 38. Ba6 Nf1 39. Bc8 Nd2 40. Bc3 Qb3 41. Qb3 Nb3 42. Bb7, again Black is up a pawn but Black can fight for a draw.

marc.steinhebel@yahoo.com 8/9/2017 08:10

Notes to game 12: It is interesting that 23 years later, in 1995, GM Kamsky and GM Salov played a game that followed this line until move 20. Kamsky varied with 20. Nc6. After 20...Bc6 21. Bc6 Ra7 22. Bg3 Ne5 23. Qd4 (Qe2 is also good) Bd6 24. Ne4 Nc6? (24...Ne4 25. Be4 Rd8 26. Rfd1 is only slightly better for White) 25 Nf6 White went on to win.

koko48 8/9/2017 08:06

Fischer's first loss with the Poisoned Pawn, but this poison was particularly strong and bitter. It retired one of his favorite defenses, he never played another Poisoned Pawn variation again

marc.steinhebel@yahoo.com 8/9/2017 07:42

Notes to game 11:

I talked to Spassky at the Western States Open in Reno Nevada in 2005 (he was a special guest), and I asked him specifically about this game. Spassky said that after he played 14. Nb1, had Fischer played 14...Qb2, he (Spassky) would have simply repeated the position by playing 15. Nc3. Spassky went on to say the Fischer's Achilles's heel was to try for too much in a position that didn't call for it.
In Byrne's 15. a4 line (after 14...Qb2), after 15...d5 16. ed Nb4 17. d6 Nc2 18. Nc3 Qb3 19. Rab1 Qa3 20. Ne4 Bg7 21. Rb7 looks good for White (if 21...O-O, then 22. Rd7, if 21...Rd8 22. Qc2).

The real losing move is 18...h4?? where Fischer became obsessed with an obvious cheap mating attack. In Timman's 18...ed line, after 19. Nc3 dc 20. Qe4, 20...Be6 is a horrible blunder. Better is 20...Ne7 21. Nd5 Qd6 22. Bc4 Bf5 when White is still better but Black is still in the game.